The Departed
Review by Jason Donner
What a great thing this is! First, Wes
Craven makes a return with Red Eye and now Martin Scorsese is
officially back from washed up no-good land with what has to be his
most satisfying and entertaining movie since Casino. I'm so
happy!
The
Departed, the movie in question in case you're wondering, is a
grandly twisted tale of split loyalties, lies, and identity. It stars
Leonardo DiCaprio as a cop so deep undercover that his identity is
only known to two of his superiors. His assignment? Infiltrate the
kingdom of evil mobster, Frank Costello, (Jack Nicholson in what's
sure to be an Academy Award winning role) and expose him as the
criminal and traitor he is.
The real icing on this cake is that while Leo is busy trying to get in
good with Frank and his gang, there is a rat in the police force in
the form of Matt Damon who is on Frank's payrole and doing his best to
find out who the rat in Frank's gang is. This is the ultimate story of
rat vs. rat... two people trying to stay hidden from everyone while
trying to expose each other even though they don't know who the other
is.
The Departed is a world teaming with moral ambiguity and mixed
loyalties. The excellent cast of characters that makes up this fine
movie are the very example of how powerful an ensemble can be. There
are no weak links here... not even the usually bad Mark Walberg who
handles his role with an amount of venom and dedicated brotherhood
that his character goes from despicable villain to tragic hero in a
few short minutes.
I loved this movie. Loved it to pieces. I feel I can't say enough
about it because when it was all done, I felt a great deal of
satisfaction the likes of which you might experience after a hearty
Thanksgiving meal. This movie was so good that I just had to sit back
and say out loud, "Wow, I really liked that!" just to hear myself say
it.
It's shocking, brutal, and awfully honest both in its subject matter
and emotions. The Departed is one of those rare movies that will move
you, repulse you, and shock you all within seconds. It's a seductive
play of violence that treats the audience like the adults they should
be treated like. I hate to say it again because it's getting really
repetitive... but I loved, loved, loved this movie.
It's great to have Marty back too. Now if only John Carpenter would
return from washed up no-good land it would be like a great
resurrection of directorial talent.